K
Kataifi (also kataif): thin strands of vermicelli-like dough, used in Green and Middle Eastern pastries and in some modern French preparations
Kaki: persimmon.
Kari: variant spelling of cary.
Kiev: deep-fried breast of chicken stuffed with herb and garlic butter.
Kir: an aperitif made with crème de cassis (black currant liqueur) and most commonly dry white wine, but sometimes red wine.
Kir royal: a Kir made with Champagne.
Kirsch: eau-de-vie of wild black cherries.
Knepfla: Alsatian dumpling, sometimes fried.
Kougelhoph, hougelhof, kouglof, kugelhoph: sweet crown-shaped yeast cake, with almonds and raisins; specialty of Alsace.
Kouigh-amann: sweet, buttery pastry from Brittany.
Kummel: caraway seed liqueur
L
Lactaire: the edible lactaire pallidus mushroom, also called sanguine. Apricot-colored, with red, blood colored juices when raw.
Laguiole: Cantal cheese from the area around the village of Laguiole, in southern Auvergne, still made in rustic huts.
Lait: milk.
demi-écremé: semi-skimmed milk.
écremé: skimmed milk.
entier: whole milk.
ribot: from Brittany, buttermilk, served with crêpes.
stérilizé: milk heated to a higher temperature than pasteurized milk, so that it stays fresh for several weeks.
Laitance: soft roe (often of herring), or eggs.
Laitier: made of or with milk; also denotes a commercially made product as opposed to fermier, meaning farm made.
Laitue: lettuce.
Lamelle: very thin strip.
Lamproie (à la bordelaise): lamprey eel, ocean fish that swim into rivers along the Atlantic in springtime (hearty stew of lamprey eel and leeks in red wine).
Lançon: tiny fish, served fried.
Landaise, à la: from the Landes in southwestern France; classically a garnish of garlic, pine nuts, and goose fat.
Langouste: clawless spiny lobster or rock lobster; sometimes called crawfish, and mistakenly crayfish.
Langoustine: clawed crustacean, smaller than either homard or langouste, with very delicate meat. Known in British waters as Dublin Bay prawn.
Langres: supple, tangy cylindrical cow's-milk cheese with a rust-colored rind; named for village in Champagne.
Langue (de chat): tongue (cat's tongue; thin, narrow, delicate cookie often served with sherbet or ice).
Languedocienne: garnish, usually of tomatoes, eggplant, and wild cèpe mushrooms.
Lapereau: young rabhit.
Lapin: rabbit.
Lapin de garenne: wild rabbit.
Lard: bacon.
Larder: to thread meat, fish, or liver with strips of fat for added moisture.
Lardon: cube of bacon.
Larme: teardrop; a very small portion of liquid.
Laurier: bay laurel or bay leaf.
Lavaret: lake fish of the Savoie, similar to salmon.
Léger (légère): light.
Légume: vegetable.
Lentilles (de Puy): lentils (prized green lentils from the village of Puy in the Auvergne).
Lieu jaune: green pollack, in the cod family a pleasant, inexpensive small yellow fish; often sold under name colin; found in the Atlantic.
Lieu noir: pollack, also called black cod; in the cod family a pleasant, inexpensive fish found in the English Channel and the Atlantic.
Lièvre (à la royale): hare (cooked with red wine, shallots, onions, and cinnamon, then rolled and stuffed with foie gras and truffles).
Limaces à la suçarelle: snails cooked with onions, garlic, tomatoes, and sausage; specialty of Provence.
Limaçon: land snail.
Limande: lemon sole, also called dab or sand dab, not as firm or prized as sole, found in the English Channel, the Atlantic, and, rarely, in the Mediterranean.
Lingot: type of kidney-shaped dry white bean.
Lisette: small maquereau, or mackerel.
Livarot: village in Normandy that gives its name to an elastic and pungent thick disc of cow's-milk cheese with reddish golden stripes around the edge.
Lotte: monkfish or angler fish, a large firm-fleshed ocean fish.
Lotte de rivière (or de lac): fine-fleshed river (or lake) fish, prized for its large and flavorful liver. Not related to the ocean fish lotte, or monkfish.
Lou magret: breast of fattened duck.
Loup de mer: wolf fish or ocean catfish; name for sea bass in the Mediterranean.
Louvine: Basque name for striped bass, fished in the Bay of Gascony.
Lucullus: a classic, elaborate garnish of truffles cooked in Madeira and stuffed with chicken forcemeat.
Lumas: name for land snail in the Poitou-Charentes region along the Atlantic coast.
Luzienne, à la: prepared in the manner popular in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, a Basque fishing port.
Lyonnaise, à la: in the style of Lyon; often garnished with onions.
M
Macaron: macaroon, small cookie of almonds, egg whites, and sugar.
Macaronade: a rich blend of wild and domestic mushrooms and chunks of foie gras, smothered in fresh pasta; specialty of the southwest. Also, macaroni with mushrooms, bacon, white wine, and Parmesan cheese; an accompaniment to a beef stew, or daube; specialty of Provence.
Macédoine: diced mixed fruit or vegetables.
Mâche: dark small-leafed salad green known as lamb's lettuce or corn salad. Also called doucette.
Mâchon: early morning snack of sausage, wine, cheese, and bread; also, the café that offers the snack; particular to Lyon.
Macis: mace, the spice.
Madeleine (de Commercy): small scalloped-shaped tea cake made famous by Marcel Proust; (the town in the Lorraine where the tea cakes are commercialized).
Madère: Madeira.
Madrilène, à la: in the style of Madrid; with tomatoes. Classically a garnish of peeled chopped tomatoes for consommé.
Magret de canard (or d'oie): breast of fattened duck (or goose).
Maigre: thin, non-fatty
Maïs: corn.
Maison, de la: of the house, or restaurant.
Maître d'hôtel: headwaiter. Also, sauce of butter, parsley and lemon.
Maltaise: orange-flavored hollandaise sauce.
Malvoisie, vinaigre de: vinegar made from the malvasia grape, used for the sweet, heavy Malmsey wine.
Mandarine: tangerine.
Mange-tout: eat it all; a podless green runner bean; a sweet pea; a snow pea. Also, a variety of apple.
Mangue: mango.
Manière, de: in the style of.
Maquereau: mackerel; lisette is a small mackerel.
Mara de Bois: small fragrant strawberry, like a cross between a domestic and wild strawberry.
Maraîchèr(e) (à la): market gardener or truck farmer (market-garden style; usually refers to a dish or salad that includes various greens).
Marbré: striped sea bream, Mediterranean fish that is excellent grilled.
Marc: eau-de-vie distilled from pressed grape skins and seeds or other fruits.
Marcassin: young boar. At one year, a wild boar will weight 40 kg, a domesticated boar 120 kg.
Marchand de vin: wine merchant. Also, sauce made with red wine, meat stock, and chopped shallots.
Marée la: literally the tide; usually used to indicate seafood that is fresh.
Marennes: flat-shelled green-tinged plate oyster. Also the French coastal village where flat-shelled oysters are raised.
Marinade: seasoned liquid in which food, usually meat, is soaked for several hours. The liquid seasons and tenderizes at the same time.
Mariné: marinated.
Marjolaine: marjoram. Also, multilayered chocolate and nut cake.
Marmelade: traditionally a thick purée of fruit, or sweet stewed fruit; today purée of vegetable, or stewed vegetables.
Marmite: small covered pot; also a dish cooked in a small casserole.
Maroilles: village in the north that gives its name to a strong-tasting, thick, square cow's-milk cheese with a pale brick-red rind.
Marquise (au chocolat): mousse-like (chocolate) cake.
Marion (glacé): large (candied) chestnut.
Matelote (d'anguilles): freshwater fish (or eel) stew.
Matignon: a garnish of mixed stewed vegetables.
Mauviette: wild meadow lark or skylark.
Médaillon: round piece or slice, usually of fish or meat.
Mélange: mixture or blend.
Méli-mélo: an assortment of fish and/or seafood.
Melon de Cavaillon: small canteloupe-like melon from Cavaillon, a town in Provence known for its wholesale produce market.
Ménagère, à la: in the style of the housewife; usually a simple preparation including onions, potatoes, and carrots.
Mendiant, fruits du: traditional mixture of figs, almonds, hazelnuts, and raisins, whose colors suggest the robes of the mendicant friars it is named after.
Menthe: mint.
Merguez: small spicy sausage.
Merlan: whiting.
Merle: blackbird.
Merlu: hake, a member of the codfish family often sold improperly in Paris markets as colin; found in the English Channel, Atlantic, and Mediterranean.
Mérou: a large grouper, an excellent tropical or near-tropical fish, generally imported from North Africa but sometimes found in the Atlantic and Mediterranean.
Merveille: hot sugared doughnut.
Mesclum, mesclun: a mixture of at least seven multi-shaded salad greens from Provence.
Mets: dish or preparation.
Mets selon la saison: seasonal preparation; according to the season.
Méture: corn bread from the Basque region.
Meule: millstone; name for wheel of cheese in the Jura.
Meunière, à la: in the style of the miller's wife; refers to a fish that is seasoned, rolled in flour, fried in butter; and served with lemon, parsley and hot melted butter.
Meurette: in, or with, a red wine sauce. Also, a Burgundian fish stew.
Mi-cru: half raw.
Mi-cuit: half cooked.
Miche: a large round country-style loaf of bread. Also, Basque name for aniseed cake-like bread.
Mie: interior or crumb of the bread (see Pain de mie).
Miel: honey
Mignardise: see Petit-four.
Mignon de canard: see Dcmsiselle de canard.
Mignonette: small cubes, usually of beef. Also refers to coarsely ground black ot white pepper.
Mijoté(e) (plat): simmered (dish or preparation).
Mille-feuille: refers to puff pastry with many thin layers; usually a cream-filled rectangle of puff pastry, or a Napoleon.
Mimosa: garnish of chopped hard-cooked egg yolks.
Minute (à la): minute; something quickly grilled or fried in butter with lemon juice and parsley (prepared at the last minute).
Mique: generally a large breaded dumpling, poached and served with stews and meats; specialty of the Southwest.
Mirabeau: garnish of anchovies, pitted olives, tarragon, and anchovy butter.
Mirabelle: small sweet yellow plum. Also, colorless fruit brandy or eau-de-vie, made from yellow plums.
Mirepoix: cubes of carrots and onions or mixed vegetables, usually used in braising to boost the flavor of a meat dish.
Miroir: mirror; a dish that has a smooth glaze; currently a fruit mousse cake with a layer of fruit glaze on top.
Miroton (de): slice (of). Also, stew of meats flavored with onions.
Mitonnée: a simmered, soup-like dish.
Mode de, à la: in the style of.
Moëlle: beef bone marrow.
Mogette, mojette mougette: a kind of dried white bean from the Atlantic coast.
Moka: refers to Coffee; coffee-flavored dish.
Mollusque: mollusk.
Mont blanc: rich classic pastry of baked meringue, chestnut purée, and whipped cream.
Montagne, de la: from the mountains.
Montmorency: garnished with cherries; historically a village known for its cherries, now a suburb of Paris.
Morbier: supple cow's-milk cheese from the Jura; a thin sprinkling of ashes in the center gives it its distinctive black stripe and light smoky flavor.
Morceau: piece or small portion.
Morille: wild morel mushroom, dark brown and conical.
Mornay: classic cream sauce enriched with egg yolks and cheese.
Morue: salt cod; also currently used to mean fresh cod, which is cabillaud.
Morvandelle, jambon à la: in the style of the Morvan (ham in a piquant creamy sauce made with white wine, vinegar, juniper berries, shallots, and cream).
Morvandelle, râpée: grated potato mixed with eggs, cream, and cheese, baked until golden.
Mosaïque: mosaic; a presentation of mixed ingredients.
Mostèle: forkbeard mostelle; small Mediterranean fish of the cod family.
Mouclade: creamy mussel stew from the Poitou-Charentes on the Atlantic Coast, generally flavored with curry or saffron.
Moufflon: wild sheep.
Moule: mussel. Also a mold.
Moule de bouchot: small, highly prized cultivated mussel, raised on stakes driven into the sediment of shallow coastal beds.
Moule de Bouzigues: iodine-strong mussel from the village of Bouzigues, on the Mediterranean coast.
Moule d'Espagne: large, sharp-shelled mussel, often served raw as part of a seafood platter.
Moule de parques: Dutch cultivated mussel, usually raised in fattening beds or diverted ponds.
Moules marinière: mussels cooked in white wine with onions, shallots, butter, and herbs.
Moulin (à poivre): mill (peppermill); also used for oil and flour mills.
Mourone: Basque name for red bell pepper.
Mourtayrol, mourtaïrol: a pot-au-feu of boiled beef, chicken, ham, and vegetables, flavored with saffron and served over slices of bread; specialty of the Auvergne.
Mousse: light, airy mixture usually containing eggs and cream, either sweet or savory.
Mousseline: refers to ingredients that are usually lightened with whipped cream or egg whites, as in sauces, or with butter, as in brioche mousseline.
Mousseron: tiny, delicate, wild mushroom.
Moutarde (à l'ancienne, en graines): mustard (old-style, coarse-grained).
Mouton: mutton.
Muge: grey mullet.
Mulard: breed of duck common to the southwest, fattened for its delicate liver, for foie gras.
Mulet: the generic group of mullet, found in the English Channel, Atlantic, and Mediterranean.
Munster: village in Alsace that gives its name to a disc of soft, tangy cow's-milk cheese with a brick red rind and a penetrating aroma; the cheese is also sometimes cured with cumin seeds.
Mûre (de ronces): blackberry (bush).
Muscade: nutmeg.
Muscat de Hambourg: variety of popular purple table grape, grown in Provence.
Museau de porc (or de boeuf): vinegared pork (or beef) muzzle.
Myrtille: bilberry (bluish black European blueberry).
Mystère: truncated cone-shaped ice cream dessert. Also, dessert of cooked meringue with ice cream and chocolate cake.
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